NFL notebook: Panthers quarterback Newton has shoulder surgery

[January 25, 2019]  Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder Thursday.

The Panthers said rehabilitation for the former MVP will begin immediately, but gave no timetable for completion of that process.

Newton, 29, missed the final two games of the 2018 season with a sore throwing shoulder. The team said the procedure was successfully performed in Charlotte by team physician Dr. Pat Connor.

Newton had surgery on the same shoulder, also performed by Connor, in March of 2017 to repair a torn rotator cuff.

--The Kansas City Chiefs hired Steve Spagnuolo as their new defensive coordinator.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Wednesday that Spagnuolo was Reid's top choice to replace Bob Sutton, who was fired Tuesday.

Spagnuolo worked under Reid with the Eagles from 1999-2006, before his first coordinator job with the New York Giants.

--The Baltimore Ravens announced a four-year extension with head coach John Harbaugh, putting him under contract through 2022.

"I'm very excited with this contract, the opportunity to continue our work here, and I'm humbled by it," Harbaugh said in a statement.

Harbaugh and the Ravens reached agreement on the deal Saturday, per reports. He will meet the media Friday.

--Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam is pegged as the main culprit of the dysfunction that has plagued his team's football operations since he bought it in 2012, according to an in-depth report by ESPN.

Haslam alternately listens to too many voices or too few when making or overruling his executives on myriad decisions, leading to the team hiring its fifth head coach in the six years that Haslam and his wife, Dee, have owned the team.

Per the report, the only member of the Browns organization who voted to hire Hue Jackson as head coach in 2016 was Haslam. The other four members of his executive team wanted to hire Sean McDermott, now the coach of the Buffalo Bills.

--New Orleans Saints tight end Benjamin Watson tweeted a message to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, questioning his silence regarding the critical missed call in Sunday's NFC Championship.

"Your continued silence on this matter is unbecoming of the position you hold, detrimental to the integrity of the game and disrespectful and dismissive to football fans everywhere," Watson wrote. "From the locker room to Park Ave, accountability is what makes our league great. Lead by example. We are waiting."

--Kansas City outside linebacker and pending free agent Dee Ford said he would prefer to stay "home" and re-sign with the Chiefs.

Ford also isn't opposed to being franchise-tagged, saying, "If it happens, it happens, and I don't mind it."

Panthers' quarterback Cam Newton runs off the field after a missed third down play against the Denver Broncos during the first quarter of the NFL's Super Bowl 50 football game in Santa Clara, California February 7, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake

--New York Jets safety Jamal Adams said his Wednesday tackle of the New England Patriots' mascot -- meant in good fun -- at the Pro Bowl put the person inside the costume in the hospital.

"All jokes aside, I didn't hit him that hard," Adams told ESPN. "I don't know what's really going on, but they did tell me he's in the hospital. My intention was never to hurt him. It was all about just a joke, but I definitely want to check on him and make sure everything is good."

A Patriots spokesman told WBZ-TV that the hit was not staged and that the unidentified man from the mascot suit is "sore."

--Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins appears to be headed for free agency after tweeting a goodbye to the team.

Despite Seferian-Jenkins' tweet, Jaguars director of public relations Tad Dickman tweeted that the team has not made a decision on Seferian-Jenkins' 2019 option, contrary to any reports.

--The number of diagnosed concussions dropped significantly in the NFL in 2018, the league confirmed.

There was a 24 percent decline in concussions in the preseason and regular season, from 281 in 2017 to 214 this season. For the regular season only, there was a 29 percent decrease from 190 in 2017 to 135.

--San Francisco 49ers center Weston Richburg and defensive back D.J. Reed will each miss the entire offseason program due to surgery, general manager John Lynch revealed.

Richburg was bothered by a knee injury during the season and also needed work done on his quad, while Reed will have labrum surgery on Friday. The team hopes both players will be ready for training camp.

--Arizona Cardinals wideout Larry Fitzgerald's one-year contract is worth $11 million -- the same figure he earned in 2018 -- plus incentives, per ESPN.

--Dallas Cowboys defensive end Taco Charlton announced on Twitter he had surgery. Per ESPN, Charlton had surgery on his shoulder after it bothered him during the year.

--The Washington Redskins are hiring former Browns defensive coordinator Ray Horton as defensive backs coach, per multiple reports.

--The Denver Broncos waived/injured wideout Andre Holmes and signed wideout Aaron Burbridge to a futures/reserve contract.

--Field Level Media

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